Secrets of A Family
by RoseGlass
Summary: IY/YYH/Naruto xover- Keiko has a secret she hasn't told Yusuke, one that may soon affect all the worlds. Her secret, she has a very strange family that just might know more about the Split of Worlds that anyone else.
1. The First Secret

Secrets of A Family

Secrets of A Family

RoseGlass

Disclaimer: I do not own anything but my pride and envy

Summary: How long can you keep a secret from those you love? What about yourself? Kagome Higurashi, Keiko Yukimura, and Sakura Haruno all have something in common, they share a family secret. Now that secret threatens to destroy them and their friends with the coming of a new Gathering.

Author's Note: age- Keiko, Yusuke, Kuwabara and Mina are about 20; Kurama and Kagome are 21; Souta and Hitomi are 17;

Warning- extremely fluffy moment right here. Will be explained at end of chapter

* * *

Chapter One:

The First Secret

Keiko walked slowly through her house, a content look on her face. She was married- she could hardly believe it. After all the problems she and Yusuke had gone through they were finally married. In fact it had been 2 weeks since they had exchanged vows, now just returning from their honeymoon tour of the three worlds.

When they returned, Koenma and Yama both offered Yususke his old job back with a very large paycheck. With all the money they had from his job as Spirit Detective and hers as a first grade teacher, they were able to buy a nice 2-story house in the same district that Kurama and Kuwabara were living in (separately- as in not together).

Keiko turned a corner; into the room Yusuke was currently unpacking the last of their suitcases. She ever so quietly walked up behind him and…she was caught in his arms.

Keiko pouted, "That's not fair Yusuke, you were supposed to let me scare you."

He snorted, "Pff, as if. Me, the Great Urimeshi, afraid of you. Nu-uh, not gonna happen."

Keiko calmly replied as she got out of his trap, "Well, if that's how you feel, then I guess you won't mind that I invited everyone over tonight and you still have to finish unpacking, do the laundry, and clean the yard and if you don't," she saw him finally pay attention as he was probably trying to find a way out of this, "you can sleep on the couch tonight." Yusuke looked at her shocked. Then he noticed she was trying to hide that she was smiling. She turned around to walk away, but he grabbed her arm. "I don't think so Mrs. Urimeshi."

Yusuke smirked as he bent to kiss her, when suddenly…_BEEP BEEP BEEP_. Yusuke was one again being called by the Spirit World. "Ah damn it!!" Keiko giggled, she couldn't help it, he just got so cute when he was upset.

"Looks like I got a new mission, already. Why can't the world not need saving for just a little while?" he sighed.

"Because Mr. Urimeshi, the world is a complicated place. It needs complicated people to keep it safe." She kissed his nose and told him he better be back in time for the get-together that night.

Botan appeared. Keiko was no longer completely fazed by her friend, Lady Death's, sudden appearances. "All set then? Good, let's go. Good bye Keiko, see you tonight!" Yusuke and she waved to Keiko as they walked through the portal, into the realm of spirits.

* * *

**In Koenma's Office**

Yusuke barged into the office. He barely registered that Hiei, Kurama, Kuwabara, Jin, Touya, and Kuronue (who was discovered to have been resurrected almost a year ago, and was now serving time with Hiei and Kurama, while living with the both of them in an apartment) and a younger boy he didn't know were already there before he began to do his traditional rant and rave about how this better be good cause the "Lord Toddler" interrupted a moment with his wife. Hiei sarcastically asked him if he didn't have enough "moments" during his honeymoon. Yusuke growled- ferociously for an almost human. The teenage boy chuckled at their antics. Yusuke turned on him, still angry about the interrupted moment.

"And who the hell are you?!" The boy swept his arm as he bowed to the toushin he'd heard so much about. "So sorry, my name is Higurashi, Souta Higurashi. Apparently I'm your prisoner." He flashed him a cocky grin as he stood up. Yusuke quickly looked him over. He wore a black tank and dark jeans. The kid, Souta's, hair was a lot like his, black, but this kid's was messy, he had weird colored eyes, blue; odd for a Japanese boy, maybe had a foreign parent or something. The Higurashi looked to be about mid to late teens, maybe 16 or 17, and pretty well muscled. Kid probably fought a few guys in his neighborhood, but didn't look like he could hold his own against a demon.

Seeing the teen as no imminent threat Yusuke looked at Koenma confused. "Hey Toddler, what's the twerp talkin' about?"

Koenma sighed; this was going to be a very long day and an even longer mission for the detectives. "Botan, I think you should get Keiko, I'll explain what you already know while we wait." Botan nodded and left.

"Yusuke, everyone, before I explain Mr. Higurashi's appearance at this meeting, I would like to introduce some very important ladies. Ms. Nekito Kirara and Ms. Saiga Rin,"

Two young women step out from the huge stacks of paperwork. The first has mid-length blonde hair, maroon colored eyes and black facial and body tattoos, and she had claws and pointed…ears?! She wore modern brown cargo pants, a pair of heels, and a blood red, spaghetti-strapped, belly shirt. She looked like she was late teens or late twenties. The other girl had long black hair that was partly held back with a trailing yellow ribbon. She was wearing white fitted- haori (traditional shirt) and hakamas (pants)(the outfit has wind symbols and a two-headed dragon on it and the crescent moon on the back) with a black obi and yellow ribbon. She looked like an average Japanese human girl in her late teens, except she had dark-amber eyes, a black katana strapped to her back, and a purple crescent moon symbol at the base of her throat. The reikei tentei were very interested in their appearance (a.n. meaning both the fact that the girls are there, they look like demons and they like what they see).

Koenma continued, "Ms. Nekito is a neko youkai who works in the three realms as an informant, assassin, spy, and guardian. In past centuries she has been a loyal friend and companion to many powerful taiyoukai, miko, hanyou, and other such beings. Ms. Saiga is the adopted daughter of the inu-taiyoukai of the western lands, Lord Sesshomaru. She works in Ningenkai as legal representation of her father's many business ventures. She knows laws better than anyone I know and is a well trained warrior, whom is well known for her cleverness in battle." Rin smirked remembering the first time she received such a compliment. Koenma took a deep breath and prepared himself for a headache that was already forming.

"Ms. Nekito and Ms. Saiga both know Mr. Higurashi through his elder sister, Ms. Kagome Higurashi, whom is a woman not to be trifled with-"

Yusuke interrupted him, "Koenma what the hell does this have to do with our mission." He looked at Koenma coldly.

"I can answer that." Everyone looked towards the familiar voice coming from the portal.

* * *

**Hidden Sound Village**

"Hmm, your proposition is most…intriguing. I will consider it and give you my answer tonight."

"As you wish, that is when the others will be here. Around the same time as my foe. Please, take your time thinking over my idea, but I am most certain we can help each other with our problems."

The first man looked thoughtful. "Perhaps, in any case, Sasuke, show our guest out. It has been an _enlightening_ conversation, Naraku."

Naraku smiled wickedly at the sannin. "Likewise, Orochimaru."

* * *

End of Chapter One

A.N. what do you think? Was it good, sorta, not at all? The fluff between Keiko and Yusuke was different cause that is how I would think people who have everything going for them would act. I mean they got their health, they're married to their childhood sweethearts, they have a house, near their friends, they both have good jobs and are very happy having just returned from their honeymoon.

Please review- clicking on the review button will bring you to a magical world where all anime live according to your rules. Or mine…hehehe

Please Review


	2. Meet the Matriarch

Secrets of A Family

Disclaimer: I have yet to successfully steal Inuyasha, Yu Yu Hakusho, or Naruto, who are all still owned by other people. One day I will succeed and …you have heard nothing…

Summary: How long can you keep a secret from those you love? What about yourself? Kagome Higurashi, Keiko Yukimura, and Sakura Haruno all have something in common, they share a family secret. Now that secret threatens to destroy them and their friends with the coming of a new Gathering.

* * *

Chapter Two

"Keiko, what-" she cut her husband off. "I don't know what Koenma thinks, but from what Botan told me you're dealing with something similar to a legend that's been in my family for…about 700 years. Right Kirara?"

The blonde neko closed her eyes and nodded.

Everyone was listening attentively to the woman they all thought they knew. Kurama glanced at Yusuke; who was strangely silent while watching his wife with unhidden confusion. He doesn't understand why Keiko knows this cat demon and neither does Kurama. Everyone has secrets, some more than others, what could this little ningen onna possibly have kept from them for all these years? From her oldest friend and husband to rest of them, her friends.

Kurama switched his calculating gaze back to Keiko as she walked forward until she was before Koenma's desk and the young ruler himself. She pulled something out of her coat pocket. A…scroll? Glancing back at Hiei and Kuronue, they all seemed to be sharing the same confused looks. This wasn't good. None of the aforementioned demons liked not knowing, and if the spiritual power coming from the Higurashi boy was anything to go by…

Keiko looked at all of them. "First off, I have quite a bit to tell you guys for you to understand this legend. First is that you guys only met my father's side of the family at the wedding. My mother's side of the family is _distant_; in fact I've only seen some of my cousins once. My mom had three sisters; the oldest one I don't know much about but I heard she never married or had children, the second oldest married a ninja- and yes shinobi do still exist…somewhere- as far as I know she only had one daughter. My favorite aunt is the next oldest, her name is Kun-Loon, she married a lawyer who died in a gang drive by shooting, but she already had two children; Souta," she gestured to him, "and his older sister, Kagome. Mama was the youngest one."

Keiko took a deep breath at this point. She was a little frazzled. She knew she would have to talk about this at some point, but didn't think it would be so soon. She felt really guilty not having told Yusuke first. That was how it was supposed to be, but…everything was moving too quickly and in ways she hadn't anticipated. None of them anticipated what was going to happen.

Deciding she couldn't back down now she continued. "My family is _different_." Souta snorted. Keiko turned on him glaring. "And you mister had no excuse for not being at the wedding, so you owe me big time. At least Kagome had a good reason, you on the other hand… I'm disappointed. You could have at least tried lying better." She smiled wryly.

Koenma cleared his throat hoping to get her back on track. Keiko rolled her eyes. "Anyway, we're different I guess because, well for one thing we descend from a powerful priestess named Midoriko, it was she that began the teachings of demon slaying to taijiya and it was from her heart that the Shikon no Tama was created. And her lover was a mortal descendent of Amaterasu, the sun goddess. Both were great warriors and their teachings continue even today through our family."

Opening up the scroll she realized that she had the attention of everyone in the room, although you really couldn't tell with most of the demons. Carefully unrolling the fragile paper because it had already undergone some damage, she explained what the scroll was.

"Yusuke, do you remember when we were little and my grandpa visited us? Remember he told us a story about a priestess who battled a horde of demons for seven days." She looked at each person individually, still feeling guilt towards her best friend.

Hiei was still skeptic, "How could a ningen onna have the power to defeat an army of demons. Priestess or not, that seems more legend than truth."

" She defeated them in the end by using her soul to contain them and herself within a jewel." Kuronue looked up in surprise, he knew where this was going. "That jewel was wanted by humans and demons alike because it gave an intense amount of power to demons, and had the ability to grant a single wish. If the wish was pure, then the jewel would disappear, but if the wish were selfish then chaos would ensue and darkness cover the land. Blah. Blah. Blah." Koenma glared at her his eye twitching and tick marks on his forehead.

"Keiko, evil being unleashed in the world is not something to joke about, story or not."

"Well it's not my fault that these legends have all the same plots…Anyway, that's not what's important, what is important is that that legend is very true and continues some 200 years later (an I don't know the exact time Midoriko was alive in comparison to the Inuyasha timeline, if ne one knows plz let me know! thnx) the jewel was given to another priestess named Kikyo…"(insert the betrayal of Inuyasha and Kikyo)

"About- what was it Souta, six years ago?" He nodded allowing his cousin to continue. "Well, six years ago, on my cousin Kagome's 15th birthday, she fell through a well."

Kurama spoke up, "Pardon Keiko, but don't you mean 'fell into' not fell through."

"Oh she fell through all right." Souta said matter-of-factly, "Keiko, I think I better take over from here on out, 'kay?" Mrs. Urimeshi nodded her consent.

Nodding in reply Souta took his cue to continue with the shortened, much more vague version of his big sister's life these last six years.

"You see Kagome is not a "normal" (finger quotes) girl. woman. Whatever. There was always something different; something about her no one quite knew what it was. (he shook his head smirking) I don't think even she knows what it is."

"Moving on, Kagome fell through the well to 500 years in the past, (Souta stops for dramatic pause) where she was captured by local villagers who believed her to be a demon (certain males-guess who- snort in laughter) yeah, well humans were extremely superstitious and untrustworthy. Nee-chan told me that one of the women thought she was a kitsune in disguise. She wasn't that far from the truth. (_Insert the Inuyasha story- parts where Kagome and Inuyasha start/ are all in love become brother-sister moments, if you do not know the Inuyasha plot line or Yu Yu Hakusho plz go to their respective sites and look up that info, or watch a few episodes –they are available via internet you know_). For the last few years Kagome has been pretty much living like an almost normal teenager: graduating high school- she made salutatorian-, doing odd jobs here and there for extra cash, and now going to college, all while helping at the shrine where we live…Umm, that's pretty much it, any questions?"

* * *

Everyone was silent, this young boy's tale seemed so far-fetched and yet…they had all been through so much, too much of it like this _Kagome's_ life-story. Kuronue furrowed his brow in confusion; something about the story didn't make sense. Where had he heard that legend before, that name, Kagome, or the Shikon no Tama? Why did those two girls, Rin and Kirara look so familiar, and so unfamiliar to him? Something was missing from the puzzle. Damn, he was starting to sound like the fox.

Just as Kuronue was about to ask a question Yusuke spoke up. "So, is this it Koenma? No questions or nothing. Cause I'd like to go back home; seems I need to talk with my wife." The dark look on Yusuke's face frightened Koenma. Botan, standing near Kuronue, opened her mouth to lecture Yusuke about how he needs to be more understanding in his relationship, but a hand on her shoulder caused her to stop. Looking behind herself at the usually smiling, perverted bat, Kuronue, she was surprised to see him look so serious as he minutely shook his head. Hearing Koenma say it was all right, she opened the portal to inside the Urimeshi residence, from which everyone would travel to his or her own place of residence.

They went through one after another. Keiko looked at Yusuke, guilt written clearly on her features before going through the portal. Yusuke followed soon after her. Kurama and Hiei followed suit with the Higurashi boy, Kuronue after him, and Kuwabara after him, and so on so forth. Before Botan herself went through the portal Nekito Kirara and Saiga Rin jumped through.

Botan lifted her head when she was inside of the house. She saw everyone looking at something in front of them. Moving Kuwabara out of the way, she saw what they were looking at. It was…a girl.

* * *

Kurama observed the girl he saw standing in the middle of Keiko and Yusuke's living room, with her back to him. She was beautiful and familiar. She had long, inky black hair. Her legs were long and shapely, and covered by her dark jeans. She was wearing sandals and had her hands resting on her hips.

Kurama continued to critically look the young woman over as she turned around to face the crowd. The first thing he noticed was that she had stunning blue eyes, and part of her face was covered by her side-swept bangs. The second thing he noticed was that she looked good in her red tank top that had a white rose imprinted on it. She also had a lithe athletic build, but still was very…feminine.

'_What a goddess-like vixen. Come on Red, introduce us.' _Why did Yoko choose the worst times to be annoying?

'_I heard that kit. And I am not annoying, I merely wish to indulge in the womanly attributes of this heavenly vixen.'_

'Yoko, please. This is no time to be thinking of seducing a stranger, no matter how beautiful she is.'

'Hah, so you do think she's lovely. And who said anything about her being a stranger. I know that aura anywhere. Her name is Tsukiko Kagome. She is a Black Ice Kitsune of the Night clans. Very dangerous and very…pure.'

'Yoko, she is not a kitsune. She is human, surely you can see that.'

'_If you don't believe what I say maybe I should just show you.'_

'Yoko, what do you-' Kurama was cut off as his mind was thrust into a void of blurred color. Grays and blues swam past making way for greens and browns. Suddenly he stopped moving. Kurama noticed that though he had stopped moving he was still running.

Yoko had said that he was going to show him how he knew the girl, so then is this a memory of Yoko's? He must be experiencing it from Yoko's point of view. That was the only logical explanation he could think of. Hearing some of Yoko's thoughts in the memory forced Kurama to just sit back and watch the show, figuratively speaking.

* * *

_Yoko was running. He was running away from the demon he stole from. He had miscalculated the strength of the thunder demon, and was now running so his lighting attacks wouldn't fry him._

_Running through an old forest on the edge of the Western lands, Yoko was alone. Kuronue was off on a personal mission on the far side of the Eastern Mountains. Yoko went on this mission alone thinking that it would be a piece of cake (A.N. not that he knew what cake was. They didn't have cake back then in Feudal Japan, did they?). He was wrong though, the demon guarding the moon amulet was much stronger than Yoko anticipated, and therefore he was not prepared when the hideously scarred demon nearly electrocuted him._

_He was starting to tire and knew that he would have to find a way to either incapacitate the demon chasing him, or hide in the forest that the thunder demon could burn down with his lightning attacks. Fighting sounded like a much better option than burning alive._

_Yoko saw a clearing just ahead. That would be where he would make his stand._

_Yoko turned around in the center of the clearing. He pulled a seed from his hair, and used his energy to make it grow into a blooming rose. His weapon of choice._

_As the thunder demon "thundered" (AN yeah I know, bad pun right) its way towards the clearing and the silver fox within it, Yoko's heart beat wildly. He knew that under normal circumstances he would have been able to defeat such an opponent, but as it was this demon seemed to be unnaturally powerful. And did not appear to be tired at all from unleashing all his lightning attacks upon the fox._

_Just as the thunder demon entered the clearing and was about to attack, it froze. Not just stopping, it was quite literally frozen in place by shadow like ice engulfing the demon from his feet up. Yoko moved forward to see what had frozen this behemoth in place, when a dark figure flipped down from the other side of the demon, a mere fifty or so meters from him. The female, he could now see that she was, was facing the icicle demon and slowly lifting her hand up. Extending her forefinger, she poked the icy creature with her claw and turned, walking towards Yoko. When she stopped walking, the ice sculpture shattered into little pieces, but Yoko only barely noticed the change. He was wary of this stranger. Strong demons, particularly females did not do anything for other demons unless they had something to gain from it._

_Yoko was even more anxious by this female when he saw what she was, a Black Night kitsune, and what she held, the moon amulet._

_As the dark vixen continued to walk towards him, Yoko quickly assessed her appearance. She was very beautiful. He had seen, and slept with, many just as beautiful as she. She was definitely a warrior, and one of noble class, judging by her markings and the fox ears topping her head, or she was in high favor with a noble family. Her kimono was gray and decorated with images of snowflakes and stars. Tied around her middle with a dark blue and white sash, which most likely held a weapon of some sort in it. Her hair was long and blacker than shadow; a possible weakness to exploit. From what he knew of kitsune clans he knew that the Black Night clans rarely shared secrets and were split into two factions. One that specialized in using shadows and the other ice, like how silvers used plants. Sometimes there were kits born in the clans who could use both. It would be just his luck if she could._

_The vixen stopped. She wasn't close to Yoko, but she was just close enough to be able to attack him. She smiled. Yoko noticed she has silver eyes._

_"Hello," she gently said. "My name is Tsukiko Kagome, Black Snow of the Night clan. I am currently doing work for the young lord of the Western Lands, Sesshomaru. The thunder demon, Rokuro, was in the way of my goal and would not move, so to speak. He had this amulet, wouldn't give it back, so I destroyed him. So, who are you?"_

_Well this wasn't what he expected._

* * *

A. be continued…hopefully soon:-) I'm sorry that's it, I just felt it was time for me to update already. I just want to get this part out of the way right now. Next chapter I'll finish the flashback and officially introduce the main part of the story! maybe...or maybe not- plz read and review it's only polite to do so, and thank you to those who added me to their alert list, favorites, reviewed etc. I really appreciate it.

RoseGlass


	3. Tsukiko's Proposition and Introductions

**Secrets of a Family**

Chapter 2

Yoko tried to get his breathing under control, he was the king of thieves, and he had a reputation to up hold. He was the cool and collected demon who could not be caught, right? His near brush with death may have left him near exhaustion, but he was backed into a corner and foxes always fight the hardest when backed into corners.

"Yoko Kurama of the Silver clans, known as the King of Thieves." She nodded having heard of him before. "My work is my business. I…underestimated the thunder demon. I would have paid for that mistake had you not stepped in…I thank you," he realized he would have to pay her back for saving his life, intentionally or not. "I must repay you -"

"Thanks for the offer, but it's unnecessary. I don't need or want anything."

"Then why aid me if you wanted nothing in return? You could have easily killed the demon before I stopped to face him, before I was in any real danger…"

She turned and began to walk away. He called after her.

"Is there nothing you wish for, nothing you desire, nothing I could give you and simply walk away?"

She stopped. "There is…one thing…one thing I crave more than any material thing in this, or any other world."

She seemed reluctant to continue. Yoko tried to encourage her- he was a kitsune and kitsune are extremely curious creatures. What could such a dangerous beauty want, and yet be so uneager to reveal?

"What is it that you desire more than anything?" He whispered walking towards her.

She turned around. Cocking her head at an angle, her ears flicked in opposing directions,to an innocent bystander she would have looked absolutely adorable- but Yoko Kurama knew better than to think so about a full grown kitsune, they are never cute they are seductive.

Her grin was full of fox mischief as she spoke slowly, as though purposefully choosing her words. "I refuse to tell a strange demon, fox or not, what **I** desire. Besides, you are a thief, right? So shouldn't you be able to just 'steal' my secrets?" Still speaking to him, she turned around seeming innocently surprised at her own thinking. "Unless, you don't think yourself capable of such a task…" She trailed off, clearly knowing that she had just insulted his abilities as both the King of Thieves and a kitsune. She challenged him and he liked it. He was not going to back down from this new challenge.

"Then, Lady Tsukiko, I am just going to have to join you wherever you may go, until I repay you this debt, and prove that I am more than up to any challenge placed before me. Your secrets will soon be mine." Yoko elegantly bowed, his many tails swishing in excitement; he winced.

He forgot he was still injured; He could not be so distracted especially if he was to steal this vixen's secrets. As he looked up, knowing she saw him cringe, she was right there. Less than a breath away from him watching him as he languidly rose from his position.

Yoko noted in the back of his mind that she was more than a full head shorter than him. He warily watched as she slowly reached out a hand to touch a particularly nasty burn across his chest. Her hands were icy and felt good against the scarred flesh. He watched only her light eyes.

She lifted her warming hand away; he glanced down at the lack of pain.

All his burns were gone…Yoko's golden eyes narrowed in confusion. This "Tsukiko" had saved his life, albeit unintentionally, already. Then she tells him that she wants nothing in return for her kindness, and now he finds that she has used some sort of ability to heal his burns- just what game is she playing at? Kitsune courtesy demanded that he not leave her side until his life debt be repaid; was this what she was after? To have the elusive King of Thieves, the heartthrob of many a female and male- any who had set eyes upon him, at her beck and call? Yoko wasn't certain but he was damn well going to find out! He was not some vixen's plaything! Yet he had to be careful- in the state he was in now, still exhausted from running so far and using so much energy, she could easily destroy him and he had no plans of dying just yet.

"Why did you do that?"

Tsukiko glanced at him curiously before looking up at the night sky. "Do what, Thief?"

He skeptically crossed his arms across his defined chest, "Firstly, you saved me, unintentionally, and now you have just healed my wounds. Though kitsune courtesy demands that I return the deed, I demand to know the reasons for your actions. Surely there was more to the story than you happened to be searching for the same artifact as myself."

She remained looking thoughtfully at the stars. Yoko was getting impatient. It took a truly talented person to get this kitsune impatient or irritated.

"Hmm…you're right Fox, I wasn't here just to get the amulet for my Lord," She looked him square in the eye. Her silvery eyes flecked with an icy blue color. "I am here on behalf of my Lord, searching for you." She looked critically at him to see if he would interrupt her to make some other atrocious claim.

"My Lord has need of a demon of your talents and caliber. In fact, he is most anxious to meet with the infamous Yoko Kurama." She smiled softly at some memory for a moment before becoming completely serious. Yoko was almost disappointed; she was beautiful in that moment- and kitsune love beautiful things.

"What Lord do you serve, vixen?" she raised a brow at the generalized term, but shook her irritation off.

"I temporarily serve your childhood rival and friend- Lord Sesshomaru of the inu clan under the Moon in the Western Lands. My Lord has great need of someone like you to aid him in a personal quest of the up-most secrecy. Of course your efforts will not be left without reward. Will you meet with him?"

"Certainly, but I will only aid the old dog if the prize is worthy of this Yoko's skills."

She laughed lightly at him. "I would have expected nothing less from the King of Thieves."

Kurama felt himself being pulled from the memory, 'Wait- what happened next? Who is Sesshomaru, what did he want you for?-' The kitsune within his mind cut through any other thoughts the avatar had. 'That's enough for now, but I am sure you see my point. The lovely woman in Yusuke's living room is without a doubt the same as the vixen I knew centuries ago.'

Kurama's human counterpart, Shuuichi, frowned within his mind. 'Perhaps Yoko, but I still don't understand how that is possible- though the two are similar in appearance the one is clearly human while Tsukiko is not.'

Kurama felt Yoko's frustration with the human part of himself. 'Then, ningen, take the chance to observe that although we appear to be human we most certainly are not. At least not completely. Perhaps what happened to me happened to her. I do not know- all I know is that that is **my** vixen and I will not let her go this time. Besides, I will show you more at a later time, but right now Red needs to get back to reality.'

Kurama tried to hang onto the consciousness of the fox thief, but was at a loss because he clearly did not want to be bothered anymore by his host. Kurama blinked and found himself back in the Urimeshi living room…with everyone looking at him like his hair turned blue.

Kagome looked at the people who entered her cousin's living room through the reikei portal. Keiko looked good, if a bit upset; her hair had grown longer since her teenage years, and of course she was wearing that new piece of jewelry- a simple white gold band that looked like it was woven around her ring finger.

The others with Keiko were certainly strange though. The man next to Keiko was tall, he had mixed energy like a hanyou, and dark hair that was gelled back. He wore normal human clothes, but had fierce brown eyes that seemed just as upset as Keiko; maybe even a little angry. This must be Keiko's husband Yusuke. He seemed like he was Spirit Detective material, in any case, he had fought in some dangerous battles, according to her cousin. Wonder why they were both upset though?

Perhaps it has something to do with her being in their living room…nah.

There was also a hybrid youkai, half ice and half fire, a forbidden. She noticed that he had a jagan eye, covered by a white band, in the center of his forehead. He was certainly a dark person; much of his attire was black. As many elemental demons are, particularly fire demons, he was shorter than his companions but not by much. Kagome continued to look the forbidden demon over; she saw that he was powerful, with a katana strapped to his waist and a hell dragon covered on his arm. Yes, she would have to be wary of him. He would definitely be one of the most dangerous of the group. Looking at his ruby eyes that reminded her of a certain neko, she saw that he was observing her just as critically as she was he. Good. She was not someone to be taken lightly, not anymore.

-Hmm, but you have to admit miko, he is very cute. He's got that whole sadistic, pessimistic, homicidal- protector thing going for him. It's kind of sexy. -

'Tsukiko, shut up before you get me in trouble with Keiko…again.'

-Whatever you say miko; just remember that we are still on a mission. -

'You're one to talk you easily distracted, perverted, narcistic, possessive vixen!'

-Sweetie, complimenting me isn't going to get you back on track; it only makes me seem even more perfect. Besides weren't you the one who wanted to stop talking and…Oh by Inari, Yoko Kurama. It can't be, yet that's his youki…-

'Uh, Tsukiko, what are you talking about?'

-Look to your left, the red staring at you next to Kuronue, that's Yoko Kurama.-

Kagome glanced over all the other young men and women in the room, noting their strengths, weaknesses, and who they probably were, before seeing just what her fox spirit was talking about. Next to her old friend Kuronue, whom she met during her adventures to the past and before that briefly as Tsukiko, was a very handsome man. Shoulder-length blood red hair, and deep green eyes, speckled with gold, which spoke of wisdom and inner-conflict; he reminded her of someone, but she just couldn't put her finger on it.

Wait a sec- wasn't Yoko Kurama that thief that Tsukiko had an affair with hundreds of years ago?! But this guy isn't a demon, is he? The red-haired man was well muscled, hygienic, and seemed to be unfocused- like he wasn't all there. She started to notice that her staring was causing others to stare curiously at him. Kagome quickly looked away when the young man looked right at her. She'd have to worry about him later.

She finally noticed some people she hadn't before: her little brother, Souta, and her sister-like friends, Rin and Kirara. Souta and Rin were watching her closely and smirking like they had some big secret to tell. Kirara…well Kirara was staring at the hybrid demon as though she couldn't decide how to make his life miserable. Kagome internally sighed, that cat would never learn.

Kagome smiled cheerfully at the large group. "Well, are you guys just going to stand there or do I get some hugs." Almost immediately Souta, Rin, and Kirara tackled her.

"Gah…guys I can't breathe." She laughed lightly as they retreated from their "attack".

"So Keiko, I heard you tied the knot. Who is he and…who are all these people in your living room?" Kagome questioned her dear cousin.

Keiko walked up to Kagome hesitating before giving her a heartfelt hug. "I missed you so much." Keiko backed up, still hanging on, completely serious, "You weren't at my wedding." Kagome was instantly nervous knowing that she was in so much trouble for missing out on her cousin's big day.

"Uh, yeah, about that, you see there was this demon and he decided that I looked like a good woman to kidnap-"

10 minutes later "- so you see I couldn't come because of this adorable little girl, who needed my help, and 500 years later turned into the lovely and screwed up Princess Rin."

Said princess glared at her, whilst everyone else (except those that already knew about the whole time-travel thing) just appeared to be absolutely floored by the priestess avatar- and that only took her 10minutes.

**Important AN**- Sorry guys I know it's been a long time but I just want to get this out of the way; this chapter has been seriously ticking me off and my dad is not doing anything to help my mood right now, my parents told me to go to the library to read except that I kinda need the computer to do anything at all!

~Sigh~ Rant over, and one more thing- I know for a fact thanks to our new hits recorder that more people are reading this than review, a lot more ppl. So I just want to ask nicely for a review from someone, and thank you to those that have reviewed I know the chapters have been taking me a long time, but I am working on a couple of different things right now that I hope to post within this month…

So again just **one or two** more reviews is all I am asking for here out of the **dozens of people **who hit up my story, I'm not going to stop writing or anything if you don't it's just nice to hear some feedback once in a while.

To my few loyal reviewers- I will be thanking you all in the next chapter

Thank you to those that actually read this.

RoseGlass


	4. Flirting with Danger

Secrets of a Family

Mariah Martin

Disclaimer: I do not own anything but my pride and envy

Summary: How long can you keep a secret from those you love? What about yourself? Kagome Higurashi, Keiko Yukimura, and certain shinobi of Konoha all have something in common, they share a family secret. Now that secret threatens to destroy them and their friends with the coming of a new Gathering.

* * *

Sakura stood fidgeting outside Hokage Godaime's office. Tsunade had called her in, and Sakura had been waiting for over an hour now and couldn't figure out why the Hokage could possibly want to see her now. Except that…well there was _that_ incident. But…no she wouldn't possibly know anything about that now…would she?

It wasn't her fault after all. Nobody told her that Ino had set her up on a blind date, or that she would literally have to be blindfolded for the date?! And use a jutsu to keep the blindfold there. It wasn't like the guy was horribly disfigured. He did have that freaky mole… and that nose… and that-unusual tattoo on his-…so really it wasn't her fault that she freaked out when some of the dinner got on her and she almost killed the civilian boy that was her date…okay maybe that was a tiny bit her fault, but you can hardly blame her. Seriously, what kind of friend _blindfolds_ you on a _blind date_?

Sakura sighed in immense irritation as the great door to Tsunade's office opened and a gruff female voice beckoned her in.

Kagome gently moved her dearly missed cousin out of their second hug that day, instead opting to just wrap an arm around her. Kagome looked around at all the people standing around her before turning to Keiko.

"So, who're these psychos in your living room?" Kagome missed how the demons in the room gave her strange looks

"Oh Kagome, you know them- that's Rin, Kirara, and your little brother Souta and you. Are you suffering from short-term memory loss, or has your insanity finally taken effect?"

Kagome laughed. She had forgotten how much fun Keiko was, especially when it came to messing with the rest of the family, or insulting her.

"Hey watch it little cousin. I'm the Matriarch now. I could have you disinherited!"

"-But you won't because you love me too much." Kagome raised a brow at Keiko's all too sweet and innocent statement.

"Yeah…keep telling yourself that. Anyway, who are your friends? Is this your husband?" she asked pointing to Yusuke.

"Yeah, that's Yusuke. Next to him is Touya, Jin, and Hiei, to Yusuke's other side is Kuronue, Botan, and Minamino Shuichi, who's also known as Kurama to his friends."

"It's very nice to meet all of you. I've heard so much about you all, it's nice to finally put a face to the person."

Looking at Hiei she gave him a once-over. Quickly assessing him as a strong fighter, possibly one she would not want to get on the bad side of. She flashed him a sparkling smile.

"Not a bad sword red-eyes. You any good?"

In the blink of an eye Hiei had his sword out and pointed at her throat.

"Try your luck and find out avatar."

Kagome's expression grew so playful; she truly did look like a fox.

"Maybe someday soon I'll take you up on that offer."

Turning to the red she was ogling earlier, Kurama, she questioned him. "So you're Minamino Shuichi, right? My friend Eri is in your college based fan club and told me _all_ about you." She gave him a wry smile.

"Can't say that it was all just fan-girl fantasy. You are very handsome, quite the Prince Charming, but somehow I don't think your fans know about the whole Spirit Detective thing. There's one thing I don't get though, and that's why you choose to go by a thief's name? Especially a demon one."

Though she sounded confused her eyes bore into him critically and coldly. She knew that out of respect of Tsukiko's past love, she would kill him or at least severely injure him, if he did not tread carefully and give her an answer worthy of the infamous Youko Kurama.

Kagome studied his body language while she waited a few moments for his answer. He did not seem nervous, rather more surprised than anything else, and maybe a little amused.

"I go by Kurama because it is my name." He must have noticed her skeptical expression because he continued explaining. "Many years ago, I was Yoko Kurama, the 'infamous thief'. I was nearly killed trying to steal something and took refuge in the human world. I traveled in spirit form until I found a human woman with child. I bound my soul to that unborn child and planned to leave the human world when I was strong enough, but it did not work out like that. Due to certain circumstances I decided to stay in the Ningenkai with family and friends. But that is a story for another day."

Kagome tilted her head slightly to one side, pouting; reminiscent of a kit that didn't get the candy she wanted. Kurama smiled at her.

"Personally I have some questions for you…Tsukiko." Kagome's eyes widened considerably as she inhaled sharply. How could he have known?

_Tsuki- could use some help out here. _

_~You're on your own sweetheart._

…

Kurama continued to smile knowingly at her. His eyes flashing the familiar gold of Yoko Kurama- letting all know who was just beneath the human façade.

…

_Oh crap…_


End file.
